The Game
by A Random Bowser
Summary: "Life is but a game, played by beings that have a longer lifespan than our own. Sadly we can only play the cards they give us and hope Lady Luck isn't smiling down on the opposing side." My play on Reptila's Redo Fic. Harry/multi with a focus on Harry/Hermione. Rated mature for future chapters. Still undecided on story title.
1. Challenge Guidelines and Disclaimer

Time Travel Challenge Fic

**GUIDELINES:**

At the age of 17 Harry Potter must die in a battle with Lord Voldermort. He is sent to his Death's office and finds out that this isn't the first time that this has happened.

Harry's Death is mad at his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Death's records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular one fired.

When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant saying that he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soul mate ("Some Granger girl...") and lived to be a centennial age. But Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another; he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised by the soul mate part.

Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times, he wasn't given this option for whatever reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.

Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe of old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.

**REQUIREMENTS**:

Harry had to have died at least three times before this one.

The memory contract must be included.

Death must refer to Hermione as "some Granger girl" when Harry's soul mate turns up in his rant.

Obviously, must be H/Hr.

Have fun.

**OPTIONAL:**

Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises.

Hermione may or may not be told of Harry's little "situation."

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters written about in this story, nor any part of the Harry Potter franchise.

Author's Note: I also don't own this challenge; it is just something I stumbled upon. I am writing this for my own amusement. Also, this will be a Harry/multi story with a focus on Harry and Hermione. If you have a problem with this, then please stop reading here.

Seeing as this is a Harry Multi story I will be adding several other soul bonds to the story. If you have a particular girl you would like to see, please let me know in a review. I will not be putting in OC's and Death Eater daughters will be considered is good reasoning is given.

Thanks, Bowser


	2. Roll of the Dice

**Chapter 1: Roll of the Dice**

Death actually felt sad for the young man. Sure, he had her made her own life difficult, but it wasn't as if he was purposefully screwing his life up, or trying to get her fired. Indeed, the poor lad simply was unfortunate enough to be chosen as her piece in the game that was currently being played. On the upside, the fact that Lady Death was his player also gave him the character bonus of multiple lives, without having to sacrifice points from another attribute or skill.

None of this did any good at this point however, as Lady Death was down to her last life. If Harry Potter died this time, she would not only be out of the game, but she would also be out of a job, which she sure is what Master Fate was aiming for, he had been trying to get one of his lackeys in the position as caretaker for the dead for ages; unfortunately for him she had already named a successor, although he had yet to discover that piece of information. Of course as the entry fee to the game was ones job, so the manipulative bastard had just as much to lose as she did. 'Has he named anyone, yet?' She allowed herself a brief moment to ponder the thought as everyone returned from refreshing their various drinks, or powdering their noses in the case of some.

Lady Death scanned the immortals gathered around the viewing table. Lady Love shot her a wink and a sexy grin from the opposite side of the table. Her lover had joined her after the first round of the game, claiming that the sooner the game was won, the sooner her sex life would return to normal. Master Fate was seated between his Mistress, Destiny, and his brother Chaos*, and it probably his presence that kept the two from lunging across the table at each other. Sadly, it didn't stop the two of them from fighting from each other, and Lady Love looked like she was only waiting for permission to shut the statuesque Destiny up with a little mouth to mouth action. Lady Luck had joined when Lady Love did and was currently leaning heavily on Master Fate's shoulder, whispering who knows what in his ear. That only left the most recent player, the Lady Luck's Twin. As dark as her twin was light, she made her allegiance clear by placing herself between Death and her lover with a feral grin at her sister.

Death blinked at this for a moment, before holding a silent conversation with Lady Love, all the while grinning inwardly. What many of the immortals forget is that Lady Luck is a twin, and unlike the other's Luck's kindness, switches between the two of them at the rule of Time. Perhaps this time Luck would be on their side…at least that is what the two of them agreed on. With a slight smile that promised punishment, Death gave Love permission to proceed with the distraction of Destiny, and in a soft voice that echoed like a mother's lullaby, she called out "Claim your character's and ante up, it is time for the final round of this game." A smile tugged at the blonde's lips as every one rushed to grab the human's who they thought were best positioned to fill their role of the game.

* * *

Harry barely glanced at the tombstones as he walked through the cemetery towards his parents' grave. He had been coing here twice a year since he learned where they were located, to try and feel connected to something. Not that it ever made a difference, but at least this way he was trying something. For the time being this was enough to keep Hermione off his back.

There was magic in the air tonight. Harry could feel it dancing across his skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps across his skins despite the warmth of the early afternoon sun. Harry wasn't aware that the statue was there until he was resting against it, his weary body too tired to continue on towards his destination. He was grateful for the shelter provided by the large stone wings the crying angel, and he wondered how many before him sat on the bench beneath her in the same manner that he was currently doing. Harry let his eye drift closed, resting in the calm silence of the cemetery, it was peaceful in comparison to the world he currently lived in and he was grateful the time to simply and rest against the angel's heated stone figure.

It was late when Harry opened his eyes once more, though for the length of his nap he only felt slightly refreshed. He stood, stretching and shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to rid himself of the lingering stiffness. He turned and meandered out of the graveyard, his previous destination forgotten. As he walked down the street towards the bus stop, he questioned himself as to why he was sticking to muggle means of transportation rather than simply calling the Night Bus or appeareating. The thought was easily quashed however and the young man was happy to simply take in his surroundings as he walked the two short blocks, stopping on the way to take in the sight of two young women rolling a pair of dice back and forth between them in some form of game that he did not understand. Mentally, Harry placed them to be in their mid to late twenties, based on their looks, though one could never be sure. Harry stood there watching them for a while. Ginny wasn't expecting him until the following day, and they were both pretty, one with long chestnut colored hair and deep brown eyes and the other with short blonde hair and silver blue eyes that reminded him of Luna. No words were spoken between the two of them, though it seemed as though a conversation was taking place through quick glances and subtle shifts in their bodies. After several rounds of the quiet game, the blonde offered the dice to Harry, holding them flat in the palm of her hand as she lifted it upward.

Harry nodded and smiled as he accepted them, lightly plucking them from the woman's fingers and rolling them around in his hand, getting used to the feel of them being there. As he prepared to throw the dice, a light brown hand touched the inside of his wrist, stopping the movement. Harry stared in to chocolate brown eyes for a moment, as the fingers that went with the eyes gently peeled back his fingers.

"_A lady never leaves her escort  
It isn't fair, it isn't nice  
A lady doesn't wander all over the room  
And__blow on some other guys dice"_

The song lyrics seemed to drift in on the wind, as pink tinted lips pierced and blew gently across the dice the third woman's coarse dark hair, brushing against his arm before she pulled away, tightening her fingers around his own as she closed them around the dice once more. Harry lips twisted into something between a smirk and a grimace as tossed the dice, his green eye widening as they disappeared in mid-air.

* * *

"I move that we raise the wager on this little game, it is beginning to bore me, what with everyone making the same stupid moves over and over. I say we make things a bit more…ahh, desperate." Love said, with a grin, taking a sip from a pink, frothy brew. "I stake all of you not only my job, but also that of my named successor." Lady Love, a goddess called by some, a fickle mistress by others named, smirked over the edge of her crystal goblet. 'Master Fate will be hard pressed to refuse, the greedy bastard. He knows I have thrown in with the Dark Lady.'

"I think I can pay the price of the pot. I'm in," Fate smirked, nudging his mistress to throw in as well before writing a name on a scrap of paper into the middle of the table where is disappeared in a puff of smoke. His actions were quickly copied by Fate's brother, Chaos, as the petulant man would not allow himself to be out done by his twin, and then Destiny finally caving with a sigh.

"Why the long face Desi dear?" Love asked, read breathed, the disturbed looking immortal. "Is your current lover leaving you unsatisfied? Come over to the dark side pet. We have cookies…and whipped cream."

Destiny frowned at Lady Love as her potent breath tickled her ear, teasing her with the promise of dark nights filled with a simmering heat. The temptress was hitting the nail on the head, and never had an offer seemed more appetizing, and Destiny did not doubt the offer. She would have to be blind to miss the lust Lady Love had in her eyes whenever they took time to caress her body. Still, she had already chosen a side and thrown her lots in with fate, so she tensed her body and did her ignore the lady breathing in her ear and caressing her body beneath the table.

"No, pet, are you sure? How about a taste, a free sample so to speak, just to let those two perverts in on what they are missing out on." Love whispered in Destiny's ear, licking the shell of it with her soft pink tongue, before turning and pulling the full figured woman tight against her and claiming the shell pink lips as she had been longing to since the beginning of the game. Lady Love flicked her gaze upward as her gifts drew a breathy moan from the woman she was lavishing them upon. Her knowing eyes twinkled at the matching scowls the brothers wore, and she held the kiss for a moment longer before releasing Destiny with a grin. "See, pet, I told you I was better than any man." Lady Love said loudly enough for the two men to hear, purposefully antagonizing them.

"Mmmm," was the only response that Destiny could come up with at the time, and sadly, it seemed to be the wrong one, as both men squawked as one. The yelling and arm waving went downhill from there, just as planned, and Lady Love raised her glass to her Dark Lady, Death, as the blonde returned unnoticed from her rendezvous with one Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry never noticed himself falling backwards as he was forced to relive the last moments of his past lives in flashback, a tight, the crunch of bones and the thin lipped grin on the pale face of a driver with unnaturally red eyes, .a flash of green and Hermione screaming as he faced down the snake faced monster self-named Voldermort. A loud beeping noise and a healer's rapid fire explanation that there was nothing they could do, proceeded Ginny's gentle face as she apologized for the fact that he was no longer needed as she forced a glowing, neon blue potion down his throat. A fire rushing at him, from him, engulfing the Dursley's as his uncle rained punches and curses upon his already battered body. Another flash of green, a high pitched laugh, his mother's pleas of mercy…then finally silence.

Harry lay still, gasping for breath, for a moment before sitting up with a groan and rubbing the back of his head. "Quickly, sign this, we don't have much time."

'Hunh,' was Harry's intelligent thought as the blonde from his dream shoved a peacock quill and a sheet of parchment at him, before glancing over her shoulder. "Why? What is it? Where am I? What is going on?" Harry questioned, as he leaned to one side, trying to look around the blonde's body to see what she was looking at.

"Because I said so. A contract, The In-between. A diversion." The blonde answered in turn, tickling his nose with the feather to get his attention. "Now sign this before I get caught and have to pay a penalty." The blonde huffed before the reluctance in her chosen players eyes led her to waste time explaining further. "Basically it says that in return for collecting my Hollows, I will allow you to return to a point in the past with your memories intact and take you as...partner when your time to move on comes. Sign." The blonde wagged the quill at his nose again, and with a huff of his own, Harry grabbed it out of her hand and signed the parchment.

"There. Happy? What now? Who are you the by the way?" Harry said, thrusting the quill back at the blonde.

"Tickled pink. I open the game. Death. Sleep well Harry Potter." The blonde answered in the same manner as before except with gentleness in her voice that was missing in the first round of answers, before leaning down to kiss the dark haired young man on his forehead.

Harry watched at the blonde turned and walked back to the table where six others were talking and waving their hands in the air. 'They fight like Ron and Hermione. So, that was Death…cute,' were his last thoughts before his eyes closed and he fell backwards once again.

* * *

**Disclaimer is on the first page, so this is the only time I'll repeat this. Don't own Harry Potter and didn't come up with the challenge.**

**For future reference: All author notes will be found at the end of each chapter. I'll make a special note on the front page when I find a beta. **


	3. Choose Your Player

Chapter Two: Choose Your Player

Lady Love grinned as she fiddled with the small statue that represented her character, wondering if her choice would be able to create the changes her dark mistress hoped for. If he could achieve her goals, than the lusty lady had plans to reward him generously…he, like many men, had always dreamed of a large family.

Fate, the Night Master, frowned as he wondered if he too should have selected a different character to manipulate his plans into reality. Looking around the table he noticed that all but the Dark Mistress were keeping their representatives secret and he couldn't help but wonder how many changes this last round would see. Either way, the old man had nothing to lose and had proven to be true to the cause in earlier rounds. Besides it was a little late to start doubting himself now.

Lesser Chaos frowned at the glowing red number in front of him. He had little doubt that his player could cause a great deal of damage if given the opportunity, but low roles like the one that he was now showing would do little to give the boy the power boost he needed.

Destiny, the unwanted sister and current lover of Fate, kept her face passive as she graced the small girlish statute in her hand with a brush of her lips. She knew that the Night Master had seen her make the change, and could but hope that he didn't realize that she was no longer willing to be his bitch. There was more pleasure to be found in the hands of the Mistresses of Light and Dark, and she was tired of watching her children cry.

Luck, like the twins Gemini, was never meant to be divided. Light and Dark, they are the two that make one, and as the fair twin stared across the table at her dark skinned sister she could only hope that the character she selected would be enough to make a difference, to keep her and her sister apart, to keep her from losing her freedom. Especially since Destiny, the jealous lover, had taken her normal piece. Until then all she could do was watch as her dark skinned sister grinned mischievously at her from where she stood snuggled into the side of the Dark Lady.

Luck grinned and let her fair twin know with a wink that there was a plan in motion. As she took a quick glance at the joined pieces she cradled in her hands. Even the smallest people had their parts to play, and with her help, this couple could help change the course of the magical world.

* * *

Harry leaned against the side of the compartment, the side of his face pressed against the window shade, as he forced himself to breathe evenly in-out through his mouth, feigning sleep as long as Hermione would let him get away with it. His friends were talking softly to each other, and Harry knew from the bits of the conversation he was able to catch that Hermione was pushing Ron to get as much as his homework done now as possible. The rustle of paper told him that Ron was settling into the seat across from him, and if Harry had opened his eyes he would have seen his red headed friend shooting daggers at the blonde headed firstie that had for some unknown reason decided to join the trio for the ride home. The whole ride home, as she had joined them in the carriage after stating her name, Luna Lovegood (which for some reason had made Harry want to crack a joke about her being a good lover, not that he did mind you), and that she had been told by a dark witch that she would be good friends with them some day.

It had made no more sense to Harry then the dreams he had been having nightly for the past several days, and the past several hours hadn't really helped all that much, at least not in the department of understanding. He could now make out that his dreams were of him dying, over and over again, although what that did to make the whole Luna thing fit was still lost. With a soft release of breath, Harry decided to leave it until he returned to number 4, after all he didn't do much during his time there besides work and think.

Harry blinked slowly as he stood and making a show of stretching and waking up. IN his pockets, a handful of coins rattled providing him with the diversion he needed. "Hey has the trolley been by yet?" He asked his two friends, knowing that it had stopped by the compartment what seemed to be a few minutes ago.

"No, mate, you just missed it." Ron said looking up from where he was working on homework under Hermione's dictating eyes. "Why, did you want something? I could go get it for you?" Ron said a little too quickly, causing Harry to smile as he watched her eyes narrow at their red headed friend.

_'She really is evil scary sometimes,'_ Harry thought fondly, before reaching into his pockets and pulling the handful of sickles and knuts he had left over from the previous year out and offering them up to Ron. "Yeah, sure mate, why don't you pick something up for you and Hermione as well?"

Ron slammed his book closed and grabbed the money before running out of the compartment and down the hall.

Harry winced as the bushy haired girl turned on him with fury in her chocolate brown eyes. "Hermione, please, calm down. He'll be back, but he looked like he could use a break. Look, Luna can go with him. You'll bring him back in a timely manner, won't you Luna?" Harry asked the blonde, who nodded vaguely and marked her spot in the magazine she was reading before heading out of the compartment and going in search of Ron.

"Harry, I wanted to talk to you about the Dursleys." Hermione said as soon as the compartment door was closed. "I am not a genius, but well, my parents made sure I knew what to look for, they have to go to training and all so they know, and Harry, I know there is something going on there. Do you want to tell me about it? Do you need help?" Hermione asked, sitting down beside him and resting one hand gently on his shoulder. Harry stared at his friend, eyes wide and face pale. _'Surely she isn't talking about what I think she is talking about. Who the hell would teach their kid about that sort of thing?'_ Harry though as he mutely shook his head. There was no way he was bringing his best friend into this; it was bad enough that she had suspensions.

"Hermione, there is nothing to talk about. Please, just let it go." Harry pleaded.

"Well, did you at least try talking to McGongall?" Hermione pressured with a huff. "Surely she will come up with a way to help you if things are bad. I can't see her as being willing to let a student remain in a place where they are getting hurt." Harry nodded his head, hoping that the thought that he had went to an authority figure would be enough to get her to let the matter drop; sadly, it wasn't. "Well, what did she say?"

"She told me to go talk to the headmaster." He muttered into his hands._ 'Please, if there is a God up there, please let her stop.'_ Harry prayed, blinking back the tears of humiliation.

"What was that Harry?" Hermione asked, pulling backwards on his shoulder slightly. "I couldn't understand you."

_'I was begging the gods to put me out of my misery, but apparently they enjoy watching me suffer.'_ Harry thought bitterly, even as he answered Hermione. "She told me to go talk with the Headmaster, and he said I had to go back." Harry said looking up. New found memories told him that not only was the headmaster aware of what truly happened behind the walls of number 4, but he actually encouraged it. At the time, Harry thought that it would feel good to tell, that maybe as the Headmaster, Dumbledore would somehow be able to help him, but instead he ended up feeling like the attention seeking prick Snape was always accusing him of being. "Look, it really doesn't matter Hermione. I'll be fine. Please don't worry, and don't mention anything to anyone, yeah. It is bad enough having to talk to you." Harry shrugged and looked uncomfortable, running one hand through his hair.

"Well…" Hermione started, looking like she was going to try to get more out of him than she already had only to pause as Ron returned to the compartment with Luna following after. "I guess I can forgive him this once, after all, it is not like the work is due tomorrow, but if he doesn't have his work done by the first I am not letting him copy mine." She finished, squeezing Harry's hand, letting him know that the conversation wasn't over by a long shot. Ron beamed at Harry in relief, oblivious to the moment he had just saved his best mate from, as he plopped down beside Harry and started passing out the meager goodies he was able to buy with what little money Harry had given him, and dividing the goods evenly between the four of them. Although, he might have shorted Lovegood a few…_'Stupid firstie shouldn't be here getting in on our goods anyway.'_

"So, how about some Poker?" Hermione asked a wicked grin on her face as she shuffled the cards. She had taken up teaching the two boys to play in order to get them to stop badgering her about not having any fun. "We can play with chocolate." The two boys shuddered in unison. If anything they had learned not to get in between Hermione and two things, homework and chocolate.

* * *

Dan and Emma Granger wore matching expressions of disgust as they ended up following a rather obese man and his family through King's Crossing Station. The whole while being forced to listen to the man's not so discreetly muttering about freak nephews and boarding schools for criminal boys. "Pet love, are you sure that we cannot afford to pay for them to keep the boy all year long?" The man paused his muttering's to ask the horse faced woman walking beside him. "No love, I am sorry, but my sister simply didn't leave us enough to pay for it, and I am not paying any extra for that child." The woman responded, an undefinable emotion playing across her face. Dan and Emma shared a look of pity for the poor boy, yet said nothing as it was bad manners to eves drop, and they really wanted to pick up their daughter without causing a scene. Needless the say, they were rather surprised when they recognized their faces as they passed the family of three to stand near by the crossing to Platform 9 ¾ where they were due to pick their own daughter up from Hogwarts.

"Mum! Dad!" The two elder Grangers were stopped from greeting the small family as they were tackled by a bushy haired missile better known as their daughter. "Come on, I want you to meet my friends! Hold my hands; I'll take you through the barrier." Hermione said grabbing hold of her parents' hands and tugging them towards were other muggle-borns were leaving the platform, not paying any attention to the couple waiting nearby, although the sneer they were wearing at Hermione's excitement did not go unmissed by her parents.

"Mum, before I introduce you to my friends, I was wondering if you would let Harry come and spend a few days with us. I really, really like him and I want you and dad to get to know him. Please, say he can stay, just a couple of nights. Please." Hermione whispered as she pulled her parents towards where Harry lingered at the back of the Weasley pack. "That's him, right there mum, see with the dark hair. That's my Harry."

Emma raised one eyebrow at Hermione's last sentence, and though she was already in the process of shaking her head no to her daughter's request, the admiration that Hermione clearly showed for the young man, who was now fidgeting awkwardly in the grasp of an overweight red headed matron, made her stop and consider it. "You go on and say goodbye to your friends, love, and I will talk this over with your father." Emma answered before Dan could open his mouth to respond with a no. Emma watched as Hermione ran over to join two boys among, what was obviously a rather large family if the children of various ages with matching red hair was any indication, with a fond smile before turning to her husband. "I think we should talk about this Dan. I know you don't like it, I don't care much for letting an unknown boy into our house myself, but did you hear what our daughter was saying. She cares for this boy. I daresay she at least has a crush on him if nothing else, and the fact that she wants us to get to know him says a lot about her feelings toward him. They are away at school for nine months out of the year. This may be the only chance we get to know him outside of letters." Emma argued as her husband frowned down. "Look, let's give him two days. Watch and see how he treats Hermione, if anything it will lets us know if this is something we need to discourage before she gets serious."

With a sigh and a withering look, Dan Granger conceded to his wife's reasoning, and turned and headed toward where Hermione was just finishing hugging the lone red headed girl in the pack. "Keep your head up, and I will see you next year." They heard Hermione say as the two girls parted. "So, honey, why don't you introduce us to your friends?" Dan said, getting Hermione's attention.

"Daddy!" Hermione said, with a slight jump, having forgotten that her parents were waiting nearby. With a large grin, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand, before looping her arm through Ron's and dragged the two boys towards her parents.

Dan watched as the two boys shared amused glances over his daughter's head, before they turned their attention to the two adults before them. "Mum, dad this is Ron," Hermione said presenting the red head to them as if he were a prized pet, before turning to the dark haired boy she had pointed out to her mom earlier with a look of adoration, that thankfully was missed by Ron, "and this is Harry." Hermione's tone of voice clearly told all that were paying attention that she already saw the slender boy as hers.

"Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, it is a pleasure to meet you." The boy that had been introduced as Harry said, holding his hand out to shake hands with Hermione's parents.

"Wow, so your muggles? You look totally normal." Ron stammered, gaping like a rather confused fish. Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused glance before they reacted with timing that spoke of lots of practice, with Harry reaching behind Hermione to slap Ron in the back of the head as Hermione punched the red head in the arm. "What was that for?"

"Manners, Ron," Hermione answered with an amused smile before hugging Ron one last time. "So I will see you on the train. Have fun in Egypt and all."

"Bye Ron, I'll be seeing you." Harry said, giving Ron a one armed hug, he had noticed other guys sharing with each other.

"Yeah, I'll be seeing you both next year, bye guys," Ron replied to Both Harry and Hermione, before turning and heading back to his family. His two friends watched him leave before turning back to face the divider between Platform 9 ¾ and the muggle world, Harry's shoulder's slumping ever so slightly.

Harry lingered back as he silently followed the Grangers towards the barrier, pausing just on the magical side and grabbing hold of Hermione's arm moments before she could follow her parents through the barrier, pulling her into a hug. "Take care you, and have a good summer." He whispered before releasing her. "I am going to wait a bit before following you through. The Dursley's are going to be put out at having to wait so long for me to show up, and I don't want you are your parents to get caught in the backlash."

"Okay," Hermione said with a small frown, giving Harry a tight hug. "Try to be safe and I'll see you on the train." She said before turning and stepping through the platform.

* * *

**So, I wanted to touch on the abuse aspect of the situation, and I started to make it the focus of this chapter, and then I realized that I even though I now have no problem mentioning the fact that I was in a bad place, I still dislike talking, in detail, about the abuse and neglect that I suffered though as a child and it has been just over ten years since it has ended for me. There is no way that Harry will willing talk about his home life, even to his best friend. At least now we know that Hermione knows something isn't right.**

**Although a lot was touched on this chapter, not a lot was covered in depth, and for that I am sorry. We will start covering things a bit more fully in the next chapter, at least that is the current plan.**

**One last thing before I end this horribly long author's note, I pose a challenge to you my readers. All but one of the immortals already has a character set to play for them in the game that is the life of Harry Potter. I will allow the first reader to correctly guess all of the known players and which immortal they belong to the right to assign a player to the immortal whose player I have already not decided. I hope that makes sense…At any rate, I have given hints, and will allow the guessing to go on until I get my next chapter up, and I will announce the winner in the author's note. Please one guess per, and you must login for it to count. **

**I would also like to give a shout out and thanks to **Draco lover 91, Silently Watches, Primus2021 **(I am waiting on an explanation as to why you think I should choose those girls in particular, especially Greengrass), and** Man of Constant Sorrow **(Thank you for laying out your picks the way you did, and you are completely forgiven. I tend to do the same thing.). Thanks to all of you who have favorite my story and are following it that have chosen not to review. Keep reading and I look forward to hearing from all of you.**


	4. Money in the Bank

Chapter 3: Money in the Bank

Griphook frowned and cursed silently before begging the forgiveness of Graff, least the Greater God decide that his desires should be fulfilled. The fact that he even won the game of Sickles and Knuts had to lay in the hands of Ruthia, he had a losing bet that last round, of that Griphook was positive. The fact that the Goddess of the house of Ook, had handed the youngling the account, led the goblin to believe that there was some profit yet to be found in the floundering house he was the new manager of. Perhaps the Goddess had finally decided to hear the prayers of the servants she had once frowned upon, either way Griphook was determined to turn a profit so that the House Ook might once again be in the favor of Ruthia.

Still, he had a lot of work to do if he planned to present the young Mr. Potter with any form of a portfolio when he finally managed to get the elusive boy in a meeting. With a guttural sigh, Griphook took his place behind the counter, releasing his cousin, Meattook, to tend to his accounts, minor though they were. To his left, he could see the elder of House Og doing the same.

Griphook lost himself in the mindless work of tending the sheep of the wizarding world. In his life time, he had yet to meet a wizard worthy of Goblin Honor, and so he gave the patrons of the bank none. Instead, he mentally focused on creating a list of tasks that needed to be done in order to restore the Ancient and Noble House of Potter to its former glory and organizing those tasks by importance. 'Hopefully the soon to be lord isn't as schemish or as scurpleaous as the previous Lord Potter. Lord James all but ran his house into the ground, squandering all his funds into the account of the charlatan, Dumbledore. No this lord is still young, moldable.' The following smirk, served as encouragement for the next few patrons of the bank to find a different teller.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Dan Granger and this is my wife Emma. I am assuming that you are Harry's par…guardians." Dan said holding out one hand towards the pair his wife and he had followed earlier, amending the word parents to guardians as he took a good look at the couple, neither of which even faintly resembled the polite young man he had just met.

"Unfortunately, we are stuck with the little freak until he turns seventeen." The older man replied ignoring the hand that was held out to him. 'Freak lovers, they are just as unnatural as their daughter. I wonder if they even care that what their freak does goes against the teaching of GOD.' Vernon scowled at the man for a moment longer before giving in to his wife's unspoken demands to be nice for the public. "I am Vernon Dursley and this is my wife Petunia. Harry Potter is our nephew."

"I see," Dan Granger let the sentence trail off as his hand dropped and circled the waist of his wife, pulling her close. "It must be hard to raise your nephew, especially with him being so different from the rest of your family."

Petunia, the wife, nodded in agreement to that statement. "Sometimes I simply don't know what to do with the boy. It wasn't so bad when he was in the public schools, but ever since he got that letter, he has walked around the house all high and mighty, acting as if we were beneath him. "The acidic words sounded so sincere coming from the thin house wife that for a moment Emma was sympathetic towards her. Of course her memory of the boy she had just met eventually raised its head to offer up the contradictory evidence to the woman's words and the moment was gone soon after.

"Maybe my husband and I can be of some help then Mrs. Dursley. Our daughter has shown some fondness for the boy and we were hoping that we might have him come for a visit a couple of weekends over the summer." Emma said, trying her best to display thoughts that weren't hers. Thoughts the Dursleys' expected to see.

Emma was understandably surprised when instead of the immediate negative she expected to receive Mrs. Dursley pulled her to the side, a short ways away from where the two husbands were still trying to glare each other into submission. "Actually, that would be a great help. You see, I recently won a pair of tickets for a week long cruise. Now I know my husband has some vacation time coming so I intend to surprise him with the trip. A sort of second honeymoon, you see. The thing is, unless I can find someone to watch my nephew over the weekends, we can't go. The rest of the time is taken care of, of course. If you would be willing to watch him during those days, I would appreciate it, and it would give you and your husband a chance to get to know the boy. Although I personally hope you decide not to let your daughter near him."

Emma frowned. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but, at least at this point the woman was willing. "Here is my contact information. Why don't you call me when you get home and we can work out the details?" The kind brunette said, fishing out one of her business cards and handing it to Petunia before walking over to join her husband and daughter, who had joined her father as Petunia was leading her mother off to the side for their chat. "Hermione, sweetie, are you ready to go?" Hermione nodded her head and as a unit the three members of the Granger family turned and walked back towards their car, leaving the Dursleys behind.

* * *

"Mom, I think we might want to go rescue Potter earlier than planned this year." Ron Weasley said as he landed and the warm kitchen of the Burrow, stepping out of the way as his older twin brothers, Fred and George, followed after him.

"Why is that Ronnie?" Mother Weasley asked as she turned to busy herself at the counter. "I want the rest of you to go ahead and put your trunks away and wash up. Percy, take Ron's trunk up would you please. He is going to stay down and help me prepare a quick snack for the lot of you." She said, not looking up from where she was slicing bread. She worked quietly while here mob of children clamored out of the kitchen and up the stairs that led to the bedrooms. "Ron, really what's this about? The Headmaster said that Harry was to stay at his relatives until the first of August at the earliest. You should know as well as everyone else in the family that we do not go against the orders of The Headmaster. Besides, it will be at least August seventh before the potion master is able to fill our order. Do you really want your friend here without them?"

"It isn't as much that I want him here Mum, but you should have seen him on the train, the last few weeks as well, now that I think about it. Something is off, and I really don't trust what he might do on his own. He was supposed to be in Slytherin, remember. We can't go thinking that he is as dumb as we wish he was, or as naive. " Ron said as he sliced the cheese he had pulled from the cool box as his siblings had left, and placed on top the slices of bread to make open faced cheese sandwiches. "We might want to keep a closer eye on Ginny as well. She was possessed by a spirit of some sort, and a dark one at that."

"I know, dear. I am hoping that the love potions we will start feeding the pair will be enough to counter act any lingering traces of darkness. Otherwise there is nothing else we can do. The Headmaster has already said that there is no money to pay for her to get treatment and we have little enough as it is." Molly Weasley said finishing her statement just as the daughter that was being discussed was heard tripping down the stairs.

* * *

Harry waited as long as he dared before leaving Platform 9 3/4. "What do you think you are doing boy, leaving us waiting here? You are lucky we haven't gotten reprimanded for loitering." Vernon bellowed, grabbing Harry by the arm and yanking him forward. "Now come on and hurry to the car."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said meekly, as he had been trained for years prior to his starting Hogwarts. Quietly, the boy grabbed the handle of his the trolley holding his trunk and Hedwig followed after his three family members, making sure to stay the required step and half behind his betters. Ahead of him, his aunt was talking softly and quickly with his uncle. At first, Vernon's face began to turn shades indicating anger; however that ended when Petunia laid one hand on his arm and smiled sweetly at the obese man.

After the initial outburst of anger, the trip to the car was unusually peaceful. Petunia kept Vernon distracted and Dudley was too busy inhaling sweets he had bought at some point to bother with his freakish cousin.

Harry was slightly confused when instead of heading towards home; Vernon turned the car toward London. His confusion didn't stop when the car pulled to a stop in front of the Leaky Cauldron "Get out, boy. Pet wants the family to go out for a nice meal. You will leave you things in the boot. You can retrieve them when you get home. You will find your own way home and you will be there at a reasonable hour unless you want to spend the night outdoors. Do not think for a second that this means you will be getting out of your chores tomorrow either." Vernon snarled seemingly annoyed at having to stop, although he was secretly glad to have the thing out of his car.

"Yes, sir," Harry said, scrambling out of the car, pulling Hedwig's cage with him. Harry watched bewildered as his uncle's car sped away from the corner, leaving him standing on the concrete sidewalk. "Well girl, I guess we are going to Gringotts that is if we want to eat tonight." Harry said to Hedwig, lifting the cage up so that he could look his best friend in the eyes while he spoke to her, before crossing the road and passing through the Leaky Cauldron, doing his best to go unnoticed.

* * *

**Well here is another chapter. I am not completely happy with it. The last part honestly needs some tweaking and I am sure that there are more than a few misspellings, not to mention that I am at least 200 words short of my chapter goal; however I wanted to post, so I am going ahead with it. Sorry that it is not as good as my previous chapters. Just a warning, there is a good possiblity that I will update, read fix to my liking, this chapter when I post chapter 4. If I do so, I'll let you know in the author's note at the end of chapter 4, as well as make a note of it in Chapter 1.**

**I know, I know, I didn't feature the Immortals in this chapter. Don't worry they will be back. I am enjoying them way too much to keep them from the story. However, I felt that I was using them a bit too often, so I decided to leave them out of the chapter. I am a little sad that only one person tried to guess who had who. Congratulations to ****Man of Constant Sorrow**** for his correct guess that Fate is playing with Dumbledore. Since he was the only guess, I am leaving the guessing game open for one more chapter. Please guess, it entertains me. I will tell you that all the characters that are being played by Immortals have been introduced.**

**Do to her popularity I have decided that I will eventually, as I am not in a rush in the romance area at this point, be adding Fleur to the harem.**

**Also I am still in need of a Beta!**

**Other than that I would like to thank ****Man of Constant Sorrow**** and ****dark dhampir**** for their very detailed and helpful reviews. I would also like to thank ****riffin121294****, ****Erlic****, ****Anime Princess****, and ****ankh0r****. Thank you for the support. To all those who are following but not reviewing, keep reading and I look forward to hearing from all of you.**


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